The invention belongs to the field of audio and video recording. Today, live recordings are usually made by storing a recorded analog signal on an audio or video tape. Tape is also generally the medium used for long-term storage of previously recorded material. This system is effective for the basic recording process, but it presents problems for the evaluation of recorded signals. The linear nature of tape, where later material is recorded on the continuous medium following earlier material, makes access to the recorded material difficult.
For example, the continuous nature of tape provides no convenient means of labeling or locating a particular segment. One segment follows on another with no means of delimiting the individual segments; the tape is in essence one long recording rather than a collection of the segments of which it consists. This makes location and access to a particular segment an imprecise process, even if a (manually made) notation of a segment""s location is available. A different tape can be used for each segment, but that is an inefficient solution for reasons both of expense and volume of storage.
Audio and video tapes are also poor media for fast playback of recorded material. To play material recorded earlier, the tape must be rewound, which is a time-consuming process even if the location of the desired segment is known. Furthermore, it is often desirable to compare segments of recorded material on more than one tape, which requires switching the player from one tape to another. And to play more than one-segment in succession, in order to view segments in context, for example, a new recording must be made or more than one player used, a cumbersome process at best.
The invention disclosed herein solves these and other problems. The invention is a digital media recorder with special features for recording live and prerecorded analog audio and/or video information. It is capable of receiving, digitizing, and storing analog audio and/or video information in real time. The invention provides the new capability of detecting a discontinuity in the reception of the analog information and automatically terminating the storage of the information, so the previously received audio and/or video information is stored as a self-contained clip of digitized information. Typically, the detection of a discontinuity in the reception of analog information relies on detection of a trigger signal from the recording device or a discontinuity in a time code signal received with the audio and/or video information.
The preferred embodiment of the invention is also capable of receiving and storing digital audio and/or video information from other sources, so that the system can play both the digital audio and/or video information that it receives directly and that received from the other sources. This allows both the newly recorded and previously recorded media segments to be evaluated both individually and in context with other segments. Moreover, since the media segments are stored digitally, they can be randomly accessed and played back essentially instantly.
Another aspect of the invention allows the automatic logging of format and statistical information regarding the recorded digital audio and/or video clips as they are recorded.
Finally, in a preferred embodiment, the invention is packaged so as to enable the system to withstand shocks for portable operation.